Accelerator



H. SMITH.

ACCELERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.10, 1922.

Patented Oct, 31, 1922.

IN VE IV TOR Hm: 5mm

WITNESSES a if l. kn.

HYDE SMITH, OF PUThU-illil', GQNNEGTICUT.

ACCELERATOR.

Application filed January 10, 1922.

T 0 aEZZ whom it on my concern Be it known that l, HYDE SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Putnam, in the county of Windham and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and Improved Accelerator, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an accelerator and has for an object the provision of means whereby an accelerating device may be actuated either directly by plunger action in the usual manner or by a sliding action in a predetermined gradual manner.

Another object resides in the provision ofmeans whereby this improved accelerator can'be applied to any type of car with a minimum alteration of the structure of the car.

A further object resides in the provision of means whereby two different modes of operation of the one accelerator mechanism are provided in a single device which can be selectively operated by the driver of the car.

A still further object resides in the particular construction and arrangement of parts which are hereinafter described and claimed and shown in the. accompanying drawings.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings, of which Figure 1 represents a vertical section taken through the device.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. I

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

The form of the invention shown in the drawings is a preferred form, although it is understood that modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts and in the character of the materials used may be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The accelerator as shown in the drawings is applied to an automobile, of which the foot-board 1 is shown. This foot-hoard is provided with a slot 2 in which a foot pedal or plunger 3 moves. This pedal is provided with the usual head for the foot and extends any desired distance above the footboard 1. This pedal portion or plunger 3 is operatively associated with a cam plate 5 having a sloping cam surface 6 on its end face. This cam plate along its upper edges is provided with flanges such as 7 which ride in tracks Serial no. seaeaa faces for the plunger, permitting to be H moved vertically with respect to the cam plate.

In the position of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, the plunger 3 and the cam plate 5 are in their normal positions, in which the plunger 3 is disposed with its lower edge over an accelerator bar 1d the upper end of .which is provided with a bracket 15 carrying a roller 16 to engage the lower edge of the plunger and at times the cam surface 6. This bar is slidaloly mounted in a track 17 suitably supported. from the footboard or floor board or other part of the car. The lower end of the plunger connects to an arm 18 of a bell crank lever pivoted at 19, the other arm 20 of which connects to a rod 21 leading to any suitable device to be actuated by the acceleratormechanism. This device may be the carburetor of an automobile.

One vertical edge of the plunger 3 is provided with a groove 22 and a cut-away por tion 23 forming a lip 24. The free end 25 of a latch lever pivoted at 26 on the cam plate engages in the cut-away portion 23 with'the lip 24. This lever is held in this normal engagement by a spring 27. V7 hen the plunger 3, however, is depressed, the end of the latch disengages the lip 2d and rides in the groove 22. permitting the: plunger to move up and down. Vi hen, however, the plunger moves back to its normal position, the latch lever holds it in this position so it will move with the cam plate 5.

If the operator, therefore, desires to manipulate the plunger 3 and actuate the bar 14, he can do so only when the plunger is in the position shown in Fig. 1. On the other hand, if he places his foot alongside of the plunger 3 and moves it sideways the cam 6 will ride over the roller 16 and actuate the device in a gradual and predetermined manner, depending upon the curvature of the cam surface 6.

It will, therefore, be observed that this simple device, which can be readily applied to any type of car with very little alteration ofthe car structure, if any, will permit the operator of the car to feed the gas either directly by pressure of his foot on the plunger in the usual manner or in a gradual sensitive manner by means of the cam. Moreover, it will be observed that when the cam has been moved to a definite position the action of the accelerator is not jerky but is maintained definitely in this position by holding the foot firmly on the floor against the plunger, therefore, the usual objections to a foot-operated accelerator are overcome,

these objections mainly being that on a rough road orwvhen the car is vibrating very much the gas fed causes the car to jump still more. In addition to the factor of steady acceleration during vibration and rough road conditions, there is also the fact that the foot of operator is always in an easy, restful, normal position, and this eliminates the mistake so often made of confusing the accelerator with the brake pedal.

What I laim is:

1. An accelerator mechanism, which comprises a member to be actuated, a slidable cam associated with said member to actuate the same, said cam having a normal position, and a plunger slidably supported on the cam and disposed, in the normal position of the cam, to actuate the member when depressed.

2. An accelerator mechanism, which comprises a member to be actuated, a slidable cam plate disposed adjacent said member and having a surface to contact with said member when the cam plate is moved, said plate having a normal position, and a plunger pedal slidably supported on the cam plate and so disposed, in the normal position of the cam plate, that the depression of the pedal will actuate the member.

3. An accelerator mechanism which comprises a platform or support having a slot therein, trackawys disposed beneath the support adjacent the slot, acam plate, flanges on said cam plate disposed and supported in said trackways having sliding movement relative to the slot, an accelerator actuating member disposed relative to the cam plate to be actuated by the movement thereof, and a pedal support on the cam plate having sliding movement in a direction at right angles to the movement of the cam plate, said pedal extending upwards through the slot to be depressed by the foot of the operator, said pedal, in the normal position of the cam plate, disposed over the accelerator actuating member whereby the depression of the pedal may effect the operation of the accelerator. v

at. An accelerator mechanism, which comprises a platform or support having a slot therein, trackways disposed on the lower face of the support, a cam plate, flanges on the upper edge of the cam plate disposed in the trackways, the lower surface of the plate having a cam surface thereon, an accelerator member supported from the platform beneath the cam surface and to be actuated thereby when the cam plate is actuated, and a foot pedal slidably supported on the cam plate having a movement in a direction transverse to the movement of the cam plate, said pedal extending above the support through the slot and disposed over the member in the normal position of the cam plate. V

5. An accelerator mechanism, which comprises a platform or support having a slot therein, trackways disposed on the lower face of the support, a cam plate, flanges on the upper edge of the cam plate disposed in the trackways, the lower surface of the plate having a cam surface thereon, an accelerator member supported from theplatform beneath the cam surface and to be'actuated thereby when the cam plate is actuated, a foot pedal slidably supported'on the cam plate having a movement in a direction transverse to the 'movement of the cam plate, said pedal, extending above the support through the slot and disposed over the member in the normal positionof the cam plate, and a spring connected to the cam plate and tending to return the cam plate to a normal position when released. I

6. An accelerator mechanism which includes a member to be actuated, a cam associated with said member having a surface adapted to contact therewith and actuate the same, said cam having a normal position, means for holding the cam in the normal position, a plunger device mounted on the forward end of the cam, the lower end of the plunger in the normal position of the cam being disposed over the'member to be actuated, said plunger adapted to be moved in one direction to apply the cam and actuate the member in a gradual manner and also adapted when the cam is in the normal position to be depressed so that the member is directly actuated by the depression of the plunger.

' HYDE SMITH. 

